Bodycote to expand European HIP capabilities
January 23, 2018
A HIP vessel is lowered into place at one of Bodycote’s facilities (Courtesy Bodycote)
Bodycote’s Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) facility at Sint Niklaas, Belgium, is awaiting delivery of a new ‘Mega-HIP’ unit which is expected to be operational by the end of 2018. According to the company, the new high pressure, high-temperature Mega-HIP is Nadcap capable, and is expected to aid the company in meeting growing demand from the European aerospace market over the next five years and beyond.
This investment is expected to significantly increase Bodycote’s Nadcap HIP capacity globally, and follows an increase in Nadcap capable HIPing capacity which it completed in 2017. These recent investments were said to highlight the company’s commitment to expanding its global HIP capacity to meet market requirements.
Bodycote operates the world’s largest HIP equipment network and continues to invest in recognition of the growing demand for HIP technology. Having established its HIP expertise over several decades, Bodycote has over fifty HIP vessels of varying sizes in multiple locations. Its processing capabilities can reportedly accommodate components which are nominally up to 2 m diameter by 3.5 m high and weighing from 0.1 kg to over 30,000 kg. In addition to standard quality and environmental accreditations, Bodycote’s HIP facilities also hold ASTM and NORSOK accreditations.
In addition to aerospace, Bodycote HIP serves clients around the world in markets as diverse as the medical, power generation, marine, nuclear, automotive and electronics industries, with both HIP services and its Powdermet® technologies.
The recently launched Powdermet® technologies incorporate new, patent-pending techniques that combine Additive Manufacturing with well-established net shape and near net shape (NNS) techniques. This new hybrid technology is said to dramatically reduces the manufacturing time and production cost of a part compared to producing the same part using AM alone.
